Easton Motorsports Co. Owner Pleads Guilty to Major Tax Fraud Scheme
EASTON, Md. – The owner of an Easton-based motorsports company has plead guilty to a felony theft scheme, in which he falsified sales paperwork to steal tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.
On Tuesday, 56-year-old Robert David Michael, owner of B&E Motorsports, plead guilty in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County to a felony theft scheme over $100,000, felony identity fraud scheme over $25,000, perjury, and willfully filing a false income tax return. At sentencing, parties have agreed to a binding sentence where Michael will serve 18 months of active incarceration in the Anne Arundel County Detention Center. After his release from jail, he will be on five years of supervised probation and required to pay over $170,000 in restitution to the State of Maryland.
“Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar that should have gone toward roads, schools, services and protecting the environment and Maryland’s natural resources,” said Attorney General Anthony Brown. “My Office will continue to protect the integrity of our State’s systems and hold wrongdoers accountable.”
The charges stem from a fraud scheme Michael carried out between Jul. 2018 and Jun. 2025, in which he created false paperwork to fraudulently deflate the cost of jet-skis, dirt bikes, and trailers to reduce the amount of excise tax he paid to the State of Maryland. He collected the correct tax from consumers at the time of sale, but then created a second set of false documents to submit to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Maryland Department of Transportation, showing a fake lower price to pocket the difference.
In Nov. 2023, a DNR employee at the Customer Service Center noticed a pattern of substantial undervaluing of the vessels by B&E Motorsports on their forms. The matter was referred to the DNR auditing division, who brought in Natural Resources Police, and ultimately the Attorney General’s Criminal Division.
In total, the investigation into Michael’s criminal activity revealed at least 165 instances of falsifying forms for jet-skis and at least 95 instances of falsifying vehicle titles, including forgery of customers’ signatures. Additionally, a review of bills of sales and invoices found and underpayment of collected State sales tax, and a review of Michael’s personal income tax filings showed gross underreporting of income. In total, Michael is believed to have stolen more than $190,000 from the State of Maryland through unpaid taxes.
“Tax fraud undermines the fairness and integrity of our tax system, and those who break the law must be held accountable,” said Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman. “I want to thank the Office of the Attorney General and our partner state agencies for their work on this investigation and prosecution.”
Michael’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27.
